Post Apocalypse
by saber-otter
Summary: Followup to the Same as it Never Was episode of the current cartoon continuity. Leonardo discovers that he is not the only one worrying about the family's future. [oneshot] Also posted on the 'Drome.


This is a little oneshot I wrote a while back because I really think Don would have needed to deal with issues brought on by his SAINW experience (from the 2k3 TMNT continuity). It's short, and maybe a bit mushy, but there it be. Enjoy!

And the Ninja Turtles belong to Mirage Studios, not me. Such is life.

* * *

Leonardo groaned softly as he pushed his door open. He stumbled in the dark on the way to the kitchen. Of all the times for a random thirst to strike… honestly!

He passed in front of Donatello's door and suddenly became aware of a panicked whimper coming from the room. He stopped, perplexed, and listened carefully. The noise continued, getting gradually more frantic.

Leo grabbed the knob and eased the door open. He poked his head through. "Donny?" No response, except for more whimpering. "Don." The eldest turtle opened the door the rest of the way, crossed the room, and turned on the small reading lamp at his brother's bedside.

Don was sitting upright, eyes open, face showing panic. "N… no! They can't… I… Shredder!"

Leo stood still for a few seconds, watching. Truth be told, he was a bit taken aback; by the sound of this dream, it was like the ones he himself had far too often. But Don? He was always so laid back and given to comforting others when they worried about future dangers, rather than stressing out himself.

Leonardo sat on his brother's bed, laying a hand on the other turtle's shoulder. "Don!"

The mistiness cleared from Donatello's eyes as he came awake. There was the familiar furniture, the comforting lamp glow, the flashing light of his dormant computer. He was back in his room… It wasn't until he had finished taking this in that Don noticed his brother. "…Leo!"

"That seemed pretty intense," Leonardo observed quietly.

"Mmm… yeah…" Don cautiously admitted, straightening out his rumpled blankets. He slid back underneath them and reached out for the lampswitch. "'Night…"

Without even seeing him move, Don was suddenly aware of Leo's hand grasping his arm, preventing him from turning the light off. In response to his younger brother's expression of mixed confusion and annoyance, Leo asked in a near whisper, "You mind telling me what it was about?"

Don tried to pull free, but Leo's grip held. He didn't want to tell his elder brother about the dream… the nightmare he'd had almost every night since… "Why is it your business?"

"I recognized the type of dream you were having," Leo replied softly. "Dreams like that don't usually happen unless you're really stressed about something. Or someone…" He gave Don a glance that clearly said _I'm pretty sure I know what you were dreaming_… "It's not healthy to worry that much, to hold all that in."

Don raised an eye ridge. "But _you_…"

"Never mind me," Leo interrupted. "This is _you_ I'm talking about. Dwelling on stuff is not your style."

With a small sigh, Don sat up again, torn. He hated spilling his guts, especially when the problem was so personal. But he knew he would feel better after doing so. He would have refused, but he knew doing so against Leo would be a lost cause. "Fine… We were fighting the Shredder again. Horribly outnumbered and outgunned. And I…" His voice wavered a bit, but he continued, "I watched you guys get cut down one by one around me."

Leo nodded. "That happens to me sometimes, when we barely escape death in battle."

"No!" Don paused, a bit surprised at the ferocity of his own response. "No. This time, we didn't barely escape. I watched you all die at his hands. And now I'm doomed to relive it over and over."

Leo wasn't sure how to take that. "Um… when have we died, again?"

Don opened his mouth to speak, but shut it again quickly. There were a few silent moments as he furrowed his brow, clearly conflicted. Finally he looked his elder brother in the eye and almost whispered, "Promise you won't tell the others."

Leonardo hesitated, slightly surprised. It was unusual for Donatello to divulge _anything_ that needed a preface like this, but that only made it much more important that he keep his brother's secret. At Leo's sincere nod, the younger Hamato took a deep breath and began.

"Remember when Ultimate Drako came to the lair and zapped us with the Time Scepter?"

Leo's eyes widened slightly. After they had returned from their trips to alternate dimensions and far-off planets, each of the four Turtles had shared his unique experience… at least, three had. After Raphael had told about Planet Racing in a far-off galaxy, Michelangelo about the alternate world where the Turtles had been superheroes, and Leonardo about his time in Usagi's world, the floor had fallen to Donatello. Who had hemmed and hawed for several seconds before wordlessly retiring to his workshop. The others were bewildered and curious about what had happened to Don, but soon learned that pressing him would only earn a disturbingly melancholy expression and no explanation.

"I… I was sent to the future. Thirty years from now."

Leo froze. The future. And from Don's reaction the many times they had tried to make him spill the story, it wasn't going to be good… "What happened, Donny?"

"The whole world… it was horrible, Leo. Shredder had taken over the world. Not just the country… the world. And the entire city was trashed: all the people were slaves. And our family… it just wasn't what it used to be. You and Raph were…" Donatello hesitated, trying to read Leo's expression before continuing.

A little taken aback, Leonardo was beginning to realize just what his younger brother's experiences could mean. This could be the future, what could really happen someday. Carrying such knowledge could be a major mental burden… which is why he would have to let Don share the load, he realized. Sitting at the end of the bed, Leo gestured for Don to continue.

"Well… you guys were estranged. And Mikey was hardened almost beyond recognition. There was no future version of me - you all thought I was dead. Maybe I was. Casey was. And April was part of a underground resistance…"

"What about Splinter?" Leo asked, already guessing the answer.

"That… was kinda why you and Raph weren't talking." Don choked a bit, but managed to keep his expression free of emotion somehow. "Splinter had died only a few years after I'd disappeared, and the two of you had fought. Raph thought Splinter could have been saved, but you insisted it had been hopeless, that he had given his life so you three could escape. All Shredder's doing." He looked up to see his brother's reaction, but Leo just looked stunned. "So… I insisted that we all band together to take Shredder out, once and for all. We managed to tunnel into his headquarters, and… it was a bloodbath. The odds were too steep. I watched you cut down all around me, and I only managed to get Shredder into a fatal trap because we'd planned it. I had essentially sacrificed you to be able to kill him. Yes, he was finally gone… but what then? I roam the earth alone, with no family?"

Leo forced himself out of his sudden stupor and quelled his feelings of hopelessness. Don's shoulders were slumping ever-so-slightly and the older turtle could tell that he was in desperate need of reassurance. "C'mere, bro," he said as gently as he could, pulling Don toward him.

Donatello could no longer contain the feelings he'd been trying to keep inside, and he sobbed quietly on Leonardo's shoulder. Something… anything they could do to change how things had turned out in that future. He'd do it in an instant. He would gladly jump off a building rather than witness that bloody scene again.

This sort of feeling was all too familiar to Leonardo. He'd had too many nightmares and worried too much about the safety of his father and brothers. He was used to it; Don was not. Thumping his brother's shell reassuringly, Leo commented as brightly as he could, "Well, that just means we'll have to take Shredder down before he gets the chance to ruin everything."

"No, it was the future. That means whatever we do will still bring that result," sighed Don, sagging a bit in despair.

"What if it was really an alternate reality, though? One Ultimate Drako wanted you to see, to make you suffer? That seemed to be their mission when they came to the lair, if you remember."

Sitting up a little higher, Don pondered this. Perhaps Leo was right.

"And we know anyway that Shredder will undoubtedly be able to take over if we just give up. His Foot Clan gain more power every day, and he still enjoys quite a reputation as the man who rebuilt New York." Leo's lip curled a little in disgust at this particular injustice.

"…Yes." Don sniffed a little and dried his eyes on the corner of his tattered quilt. "The least we can do is fight that future by trying to take Shredder out before it happens. We could fail. But we would only be wrong if we didn't try at all." He paused, then looked his older brother in the eye. "But remember… this doesn't leave my room. I can only imagine what would happen to Mikey if he found out what's supposed to happen to us. And Raph wouldn't take it well either, I think."

"Not Sensei?"

"Not by you. I'm still trying to decide whether he needs to know about this. But if I decide he does, I'll be the one to tell him, okay?"

Leonardo nodded. "It's your right." There was a brief awkward silence, after which Leo stood and headed for the door. "I was up for water. Can I get you any?"

Don shook his head. "I've got a water bottle on my nightstand. I'll be all right." He reached up and turned off the lamp. "Thanks," he offered as an afterthought.

"No problem," Leo replied as he left. "Be sure to get some sleep, Donny."

Sleep would still prove elusive to the purple-masked turtle for several weeks, but at least there were some hopeful thoughts he could bring in to fill those dark and lonely hours of the night.


End file.
